Rail-joint.



No. 7l4,888. Pa'ntd Dec. 2, |902.

W. H. FRITZ.

RAIL JOINT.

(Application led Aug. 20,1902.)

(No Mode.)

l' UNrrED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM H. FRITZ, OF HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. l714,888, dated December2, 1902. Application tiled August 20, 1902. Serial No. 120.390. (Nomodel.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern: Y

Be it known that l, VILLIAM H. FRITZ, a citizen of the United States,residing at Harrisburg, in the county of Dauphin and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Rail-Joint, of which thefollowing is a specication.

The invention relates to improvements in rail-joints.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction ofrail-joints and rails and to provide a simple and comparativelyinexpensive construction adapted to aiford practically a continuous railand capable when the head of a rail at one side of a joint or otherportion of a track becomes worn of being readily reversed withoutremoving the base of the rail from the cross-ties.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective View of a rail-jointconstructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a transversesectional view. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view. Fig. 4E is adetail view of the connecting piece or section. Fig. 5 is a detail viewof the head of one of the rails.

Like numerals of reference designate correspondingparts in all the figures ofthe drawlugs.

l l designate the base portions of two rails, which are provided withremovable heads 2 and which are spaced apart at their ends, as clearlyshown in Figs. l and 3, at the bottom and which are connected at the topbya connecting piece or section 3 to form practically a continuous railand to prevent the ends of the rails from being broken down by thewheels of a train. The base l is provided with a longitudinal groove 4Cfor the reception of a depending web 5 of the head 2 of the rail, andthe said groove 4 is formed by a pair of webs 6, spaced apart andprovided at their upper ends with outwardly-extending flanges 7,arranged to support the head of the rail and receiving the lower facesof the same at opposite sides of the web 5. The upper and lower portionsof the rails are secured together by transverse bolts'8, provided withnut-s and passing through the webs,wl1ich are provided with registeringperfor-ations. The head of the rail is provided at each end with arecess or cut-away portion 9, forming a projecting portion 10, which isadapted to fit in a corresponding recess or cut-away portion 1l of theconnecting-piece 3, which is provided with a central depending web 12,which fits in the grooves of the adjacent ends of the rails l. Thecentral depending web of the connecting-piece is provided with aperforation to receive one of the adjacent bolts, and it has a slot 13for the reception of the other adjacent bolt. The slot is adapted topermit the necessary expansion and contraction resulting from changes intemperature. The ends of the heads 2 terminate short of the ends of thebase of the rail to permit the lower portions of the rails to receivethe connecting portion or section 3. The overlapping recessed ends ofthe connecting-section and the heads of the rails form a continuousupper face or tread, and when one side of the connecting portion orsection becomes worn it may be readily reversed to present its otherside to flanges of car-wheels. The heads orupper portions of the railsmay also be reversed by simply removing the connecting-bolts andvwithout detaching the lower portions from the cross-ties. This will befound especially advantageous where guard-rails are used, and in thecase of frogs and points the upper portion of a frog or switch-point maybe removed aud replaced by an unworn section or member without entirelydiscarding the frog or point and without removing the lower portion ofthe same from the cross-ties or other support. This construction willalso enable such change to be made within a very short space of time, asit is only necessary to remove the bolts for connecting the webs of theupper and lower portions of the rails.

It will be seen that the rails and rail-joint are exceedingly simple andinexpensive in construction, that they are adapted to be readily securedto the cross-ties by spikes in the usual manner, and that they areadapted to dispense with the nsual iish-plates at the ends of the railsand at the same time form a solid upper portion which is practicallycontinuous and which presents an unbroken surface to the wheels of atrain. Also it will be ICO clear that the device will enable the railsnow in use to be utilized, as their upper portions may be applied to thelower portions l of the improved rails by cutting off the base or lowerportion, thereby leaving a head and a web similar to the upper portion2.

Vhat I claim isl. In a device of the class described, the combination ofthe lower portions provided with longitudinal grooves, the upperportions having webs arranged in the grooves, said upper portionsterminating short of the ends of the lower portions, and a reversibleconnecting device provided with a web to fit in the end portions of thesaid grooves and having a head forming continuations of the upperportions of the rails and overlapping the saine, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of the lowerportions having parallel Webs forming grooves and provided at theirupper ends with outwardly-extending flanges, the upper portionsconsisting of heads supported by the said flanges, and webs arrangedbetween the parallel webs ofthe lower portions, and an overlappingconnecting-section consisting of a head, and a web and arranged on andsecured to the ends of the lower portions andover'lapping the ends ofthe upper portions, substantially as described.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of the lower.portions provided with grooves, the upper portions provided with webs toit the grooves and having recessed ends forming projecting portions, anda reversible connecting-section consisting of a web, and a head recessedat its ends to iit the recessed ends of the upper portions of the rails,substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM H. FRITZ.

Witnesses:

A. W. HosTnR, Jr., M. R. HosTER.

